It is important for every researcher to have a profile in scientometric databases, as it provides not only convenient access to scientific resources but also helps to popularise their research. However, there are cases when publications do not appear in the author's profile, which can negatively affect the Hirsch index and limit the visibility of scientific papers in the international scientific community. How to solve this problem? In this article, we have prepared for you detailed and step-by-step instructions on how to solve this issue on the Google Scholar platform.
For the purpose of this article, a random article was chosen as a case study
Searching for a scientific article in Google Scholar
One of the main advantages of the Google Scholar platform is its ability to quickly find articles related to an author's profile. This allows users to get accurate and up-to-date information about the publication. In addition, in the journals indexed in Google Scholar, the system provides an opportunity to see how many times other scientists have cited an article, which is an important indicator of its scientific impact. This data is automatically taken into account when calculating the Hirsch index, which is used to assess the author's scientific activity.
The publication of a scientific article is an important step in the dissemination of research results and the development of science. However, for a successful scientific career, it is not enough to publish articles – it is also important to monitor their impact in the scientific community. The number of citations is an important indicator of the significance of an article and its contribution to science. What should you do if your article has been published, you have a Google Scholar profile, the article is linked, but there are no citations?
How to combine articles and citations in a researcher's Google Scholar profile?
In this screenshot, you can see that the number of citations for an article is not currently displayed. However, it is important to know what the search results page looks like, where this information is usually available. This page shows the total number of citations for each publication. To do this, select the “include citations” function on the left-hand side of the panel. Here is an example of what the search results look like when you search for a scientific article in Google Scholar.
The search process has returned two different results for the same publication. The first result contains an active link to the full text of the article in PDF format published in a scientific journal. The second result is a separate citation of the same article, but without an active link, which states that the article has been cited by other researchers 10 times. Both records refer to the same publication, but the citation is not linked to the main record, which leads to incorrect display of citation information on the platform.
Let's assume that an article with zero citations is already in your Google Scholar profile.
Step 1. Log in to your Google Scholar account
After logging in to your account, enter the title of your article in the search bar and click the “Add articles” button (as shown in the screenshot below, highlighted in red).
Step 2. Enter the title of the article in the search box
In the search box, enter the title of the article in the format of the quote given earlier: “Factual importance and self-significance of ideals in the cultural identification of European countries. Deleted Journal, 8 (4), 45-56”, and find the desired entry. Then select the article by ticking the appropriate box. This will allow you to link a different version of the article to your profile to further update the number of citations of the main article.
Step 3. Selecting the records of a scientific article in Google Scholar
The next step is to select both entries of the article – the active link to the publication and the citation without an active link. After that, click the “Merge” function, as shown in the screenshot below. This operation will merge the records into one, which will ensure that the citations are correctly linked to the main article record and update the citation statistics in your profile according to the real data.
Step 4. Merge records in Google Scholar
After selecting both article records, select the correct version of the publication. Then click the merge button. This will allow you to combine citations with other results into one record, which guarantees the correct display of the number of citations and improves your profile on the platform.
After completing these steps, you will receive one merged article record, where the links to the publication will be active and the current number of citations will be displayed – 10. This will provide an accurate reflection of the impact of your publication, allow you to track citations correctly and calculate the Hirsch index correctly.
We hope that this instruction was useful and helped you to combine an article with citations correctly. Similar mistakes and situations occur from time to time in various databases, especially in Google Scholar, as this database contains a huge number of records and is one of the largest in the world. Therefore, it is important that you regularly check your profiles and the information they contain. This is important for your scientific reputation and career development, as it helps to recognise your contribution to science and opens up new opportunities for collaboration with other researchers.
“Scientific Publications” offers the service of increasing the citation and Hirsch index in Google Scholar. Our experts will conduct a detailed analysis of your profile, configure all technical parameters, create references in accordance with the requirements of journals, and take other necessary actions. If you have any questions, fill out the form below, and our manager will contact you shortly for a free consultation. Together to new achievements!
